Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2016 12:03:10 GMT
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/flexible-bendable-smartphone-screen-human-media-lab-canada-a6882036.html
And how about a Smartphone for just £2.60
Freedom 251: Indian electronics company launches world's cheapest smartphone today
Canadian researchers have developed what they claim is the world's first flexible smartphone.
The technology, which is still in the prototype stage, could one day make shattered screens and permanently bent phones a thing of the past if it hits the market.
The team, working in the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, have called their device the ReFlex, and a short video showing its capabilities is seriously impressive.
Other than making the phone a little more resistant to drops, the bendable body offers some interesting new methods of navigating.
Rather than swiping the screen to turn pages when reading an ebook, as they would with a regular smartphone, the user can just bend the phone and flip through as many pages as they need to, in the same way they would with a regular book.
A vibrating unit embedded in the phone also provides haptic feedback, so users can feel the 'pages' flipping past their fingers as they move through the book.
It also has applications in gaming, too - when playing Angry Birds, the vibration changes as the catapult pulls back, giving the sensation of an actual rubbing band stretching out and snapping forward.
Equipped with a high-definition OLED screen, the display actually looks quite good, with sharp images and bright, vibrant colours.
Importantly, the Android-powered device can also make calls. But who uses their phone to do that?
Flexible smartphones have been unveiled before - manufacturers like Nokia and Samsung have made a few experimental models, but they've mostly either been wired devices or just promotional concepts. The LG G Flex bendable smartphone was actually released to the public in 2013, but it couldn't bend anywhere near as much as the ReFlex.
By making their device completely wireless, full-colour, high resolution and truly flexible, the Queen's University team might just have achieved a first in mobile technology.
It's obviously not going to be hitting the market soon, but Roel Vertegaal, head of the Human Media Lab, believes we could see the technology reach consumers within a few years.
The technology, which is still in the prototype stage, could one day make shattered screens and permanently bent phones a thing of the past if it hits the market.
The team, working in the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, have called their device the ReFlex, and a short video showing its capabilities is seriously impressive.
Other than making the phone a little more resistant to drops, the bendable body offers some interesting new methods of navigating.
Rather than swiping the screen to turn pages when reading an ebook, as they would with a regular smartphone, the user can just bend the phone and flip through as many pages as they need to, in the same way they would with a regular book.
A vibrating unit embedded in the phone also provides haptic feedback, so users can feel the 'pages' flipping past their fingers as they move through the book.
It also has applications in gaming, too - when playing Angry Birds, the vibration changes as the catapult pulls back, giving the sensation of an actual rubbing band stretching out and snapping forward.
Equipped with a high-definition OLED screen, the display actually looks quite good, with sharp images and bright, vibrant colours.
Importantly, the Android-powered device can also make calls. But who uses their phone to do that?
Flexible smartphones have been unveiled before - manufacturers like Nokia and Samsung have made a few experimental models, but they've mostly either been wired devices or just promotional concepts. The LG G Flex bendable smartphone was actually released to the public in 2013, but it couldn't bend anywhere near as much as the ReFlex.
By making their device completely wireless, full-colour, high resolution and truly flexible, the Queen's University team might just have achieved a first in mobile technology.
It's obviously not going to be hitting the market soon, but Roel Vertegaal, head of the Human Media Lab, believes we could see the technology reach consumers within a few years.
And how about a Smartphone for just £2.60
Freedom 251: Indian electronics company launches world's cheapest smartphone today
An Indian electronics company has launched a smartphone that only costs 251 rupees - or around £2.60.
The Freedom 251, manufactured by Ringing Bells, launches on 18 February and will bring a "revolution to the industry," a company spokeswoman told AFP.
Considering it costs about as much as a cup of coffee, the 251 boasts some fairly decent specs - it runs the Android Lollipop 5.1 operating system, and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quadcore processor.
It also has a 4-inch screen, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory (expandable to 32 GB) and a 3.2 megapixel front camera.
Freedom 251 owners will have access to all the apps on the Google Play Store, although some of them might push the phone to its limits.
The 251 also comes with a number of pre-installed programs like farming and fishing apps, which are designed to suit the phone's target market.
The Ringing Bells spokeswoman told AFP that the phone was assembled in India with parts produced overseas - however, the company reportedly intends to manufacture its devices entirely in India within a year.
The Freedom 251, manufactured by Ringing Bells, launches on 18 February and will bring a "revolution to the industry," a company spokeswoman told AFP.
Considering it costs about as much as a cup of coffee, the 251 boasts some fairly decent specs - it runs the Android Lollipop 5.1 operating system, and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quadcore processor.
It also has a 4-inch screen, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal memory (expandable to 32 GB) and a 3.2 megapixel front camera.
Freedom 251 owners will have access to all the apps on the Google Play Store, although some of them might push the phone to its limits.
The 251 also comes with a number of pre-installed programs like farming and fishing apps, which are designed to suit the phone's target market.
The Ringing Bells spokeswoman told AFP that the phone was assembled in India with parts produced overseas - however, the company reportedly intends to manufacture its devices entirely in India within a year.
